Traveling across time zones? Amazing. Jet lag is a way to start your vacation. Not so amazing. Although there are many perks to traveling and seeing the world, the worst thing that can happen is jet lag. Struggling to stay awake or fall asleep, feeling exhausted and cranky, and having digestive problems—who wants to deal with that while on vacation? While some adjustment period is expected when you change time zones, jet lag doesn’t have to ruin your trip, so we spoke with health and nutrition experts for their best tips and tricks to prevent and manage jet lag. Bon voyage!
What is jet lag?
Sometimes called jet lag disorder, it’s defined by the Mayo Clinic as, “a temporary sleep problem that can affect anyone who travels quickly across multiple time zones.”
Some symptoms include:
- insomnia
- Too early to get up
- Feeling very tired
- Having difficulty concentrating or functioning
- Constipation or diarrhea
- A thrown-off appetite
- General feelings of feeling unwell
- Changes in mood
Although symptoms can vary in intensity, they tend to be more severe the further you travel. Adjusting to a destination that’s an hour or two off, for example, is different than hopping across continents where the clock jumps half a day ahead. Thankfully, you don’t have to simply struggle through. There are some things you can do to avoid and manage jetlag, no matter how far your destination may be.
Ani Baran L.ac
Acupuncturist
Baran is the NJ Acupuncture Center’s lead acupuncturist and owner. Her treatments are tailored to patients’ needs.
Vanessa Rissetto
Registered dietician
Vanessa is a certified nutritionist dietician and co-founder of Culina Health. She assists clients with weight management, family nutrition and bariatric surgery.
How to prevent jetlag
Before you fly
To avoid jet lag, adjust your bedtimes a few weeks before you travel to adjust your circadian rhythm. “Everyone has their own internal circadian clock that instinctually tells you it’s time to eat or sleep,” said Ani Baran, a licensed acupuncturist and owner of NJ Acupuncture Center in Jersey City, New Jersey. When your typical schedule is thrown off, that’s when problems can happen.
Ahead of your flight, try going to bed an hour earlier or later (depending on whether your destination’s time zone is ahead or behind your current one) than you usually would to prep your body for the change. To give yourself a mental cue, adjust your watch to the new hour before you leave.
Baran also recommends that you eat and drink healthy before you travel. This will ensure that your body has enough vitamins and minerals to adjust to the changes in time.
If you’re into acupuncture, that can also help prevent and treat the side effects, Baran said. Traditional Chinese medicine says that sleep is affected by the energy and qi of your body. Baran explained that Acupuncture can balance your qi flow before, during and after flying to maintain a healthy circadian rhythm.
During the flight
While you’re in flight, drink plenty of water and limit caffeine. Some coffee is OK, but “you don’t need to get jacked up on caffeine to keep up,” said Vanessa Rissetto, registered dietitian and co-founder of Culina Health. That’s a surefire way to crash and burn. Instead, she stressed the importance of hydration, which can help decrease the bloating that often comes along with travel and help fend off constipation—a common side effect of crossing time zones.
Listening to your body is important. If your flight is overnight, it’s generally not a good idea to stay awake in hopes of already being adjusted when you land. Extreme fatigue can only make matters worse, so don’t fight it.
After the flight
The Mayo Clinic suggests that you work on the local schedule as soon after landing. If it’s daytime at your destination, resist the urge to nap, and instead, go outside in the natural light. If you land in the evening, get to bed at night.
To manage jet lag symptoms, you’ll also want to keep sugar to a minimum. Rissetto explained that sugar can disrupt your sleep, especially if you have an allergy. You may experience a “sugar crash” that leaves you feeling sleepy, but once you fall asleep, “your body will try to metabolize all the sugar you ate, and it could keep you up,” she said. Keep sweets to a minimum, while you hydrate.
“If you’re already jet-lagged, try to focus on nutrient-dense foods to ensure your body is getting what it needs,” Rissetto said. “Think veggie-loaded soups, protein, healthy fats, and limiting alcohol.” In other words, go easy on your body while it’s adjusting!
And—as if you needed an excuse—Baran recommended massage therapy as a way to ease the body back to its natural rhythm. “Massages help by stimulating acupuncture points manually but gently, which can help reset the internal circadian clock,” she said. Massage therapists may also be able to focus on specific body parts to stimulate blood flow and relax tight muscles after travel.
And if you’ve tried everything to no avail, patience is your last resort. Baran and Rissetto agree, stating that while everyone is different, most people will adapt within two days.
Source: The Every Girl
